Light & Hope
by Atariel Tsukai
Summary: Darkness is always the strongest when there is Light to attract it. Sometimes you just need a little Hope to get through the deepest of Darkness.
1. 01: Nightmares That Lead To Sweet Dreams

Title: Light & Hope

Author: Atariel Tsukai

Date: November 26, 2015

Summary: Darkness is always the strongest when there is Light to attract it. Sometimes you just need a little Hope to get through the deepest of Darkness.

Rating: T

Authoress's Note: I am back at writing! If you follow my other stories, please don't be mad that I'm starting yet another new story! I started writing this quite some time ago, but had a major inspiration to finish up this first chapter last night! Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, but I am so very glad that Digimon Tri Reunion has been released! It's hard to find, but I've watched it twice so far!

. .

Chapter 01: Nightmares That Lead To Sweet Dreams

There were a lot of things that child might consider to be scary. Fortunately, most of them were fake. At least, that is what parents would say in order to get their worried children calmed down and back to sleep in the middle of the night. Hikari Kamiya, however, had almost always known that it was not true. There were such things as monsters. Some were good, but others were truly horrifying.

At the age of four, she and her brother, Taichi, had met their very first Digital Monster. Late on night, a DigiEgg appeared to them through their computer and their lives had never been the same. They witnessed a battle between a friendly Greymon and an evil Parrotmon. Years went by and, although he seemed to forget about their Digimon encounter, Tai had always promised that he would never let any bad monsters hurt Kari. That was the only way to get her to fall back to sleep after nightmares, not by writing them off as make-believe.

At eight, Kari was supposed to join Tai and some of their other friends for her first year of summer camp. Unfortunately, she caught a cold and had to stay home. This kept her safe from the strange occurrence of being pulled into the Digital World for the first time. While her brother and their friends were off fighting to save the parallel universe, she was on her own, waiting for him to return from camp. It was not long before the DigiDestined came back to Japan, searching for the Eighth Child before the very evil Myotismon could get to them. As fate would have it, she was the child the vampire-like Digimon was searching for and would stop at nothing to get. Even after they had worked together to defeat him several times, along with countless other enemies trying to take over either world, she could not get over the nightmares. Not even with the support of her brother and the rest of their friends.

 _Chestnut orbs peered passed auburn bangs as Hikari was led through the communications tower by Phantomon. The courage she had displayed when turning herself in as the Eighth Child had been quick to fade. She did not want people to remain captive or hurt by Myotismon and his minions, but now she was terrified beyond belief._

'Tai, where are you? I'm scared. . I know I turned myself in, but I don't think I can do this on my own. . . ' _she thought, even though she knew that her brother was far away._

 _By the time she was brought to Myotismon, she was shaking. Icy blue eyes studied the young girl's face and a smirk came to the blond's lips. "Such a good little Chosen One, sacrificing yourself to keep your family, friends, even total strangers safe. At least, for now."_

 _A soft gasp escaped Kari's lips. "Wh-what do you mean, for now? You wanted me here and I came. Please leave everyone else alone," she whispered, her voice shaking._

 _Myotismon just laughed. He took a few steps towards the girl, who backed up out of fear. "I don't need_ any _of the humans in this world. Now that I have_ you _the rest of those annoying children will come to the rescue and I will destroy them all before I do the same to you," he told her, barely above a whisper._

"KARI! _Get away from her, you creep!"_

 _Chestnut orbs widened as Hikari heard Taichi calling out to her. "_ No! _" she cried out, trying to grab Myotismon as he turned on her brother, their friends, and their Digimon. A dark aura began to glow around the man's body and she was afraid it was too late. . ._

"TAI!"

The door to her bedroom burst open, revealing an older brunette male. As usual, his chocolate hair stuck out in every direction imaginable. The thing that was odd was that he was already dressed and seemed ready for the day. Normally, Kari would be the one to drag Tai out of bed every morning.

His warm chocolate eyes studied her face while she breathed in and out heavily. Before she could say anything, he was at her bedside, pulling her into a gentle hug. "Bad dream?" he asked softly.

She gave a weak nod, some tears falling from her wide hazel orbs. "It was so horrible, Tai. . I had turned myself in to Myotismon just like I did back then, but everything else was different. You and the rest of our friends came to save me, but he. . . " A shudder ran through her petite body as she thought of the aura that had been shot at all of her really good friends.

"It's okay, Kari. It was just a bad dream. We defeated him a few times. You and Gatomon are both a lot stronger now than you were back then. We all are. If he ever comes back, we'll just beat him again," Taichi said reassuringly as he sat on the edge of Hikari's bed, gently ruffling her short auburn hair. "Anyway, I think you have something even scarier to think about today. Are you sure you're ready for your first day of high school?" he asked jokingly. His fingers brushed over her forehead for a moment and he frowned a bit. "You have a fever. No wonder you had a nightmare."

Kari pulled away and managed a small smile. "I'm okay, Tai. I need to start getting ready for school now," she said softly.

The older Kamiya eyed the younger a while longer, then nodded. "Just promise you'll go lie down in the infirmary if you start to feel sick during class."

"But, it's the first d-"

"I'm serious, Hikari." Tai rarely used his sister's full name. "I'll let Davis know that you aren't feeling well and he'll constantly bug you, if you don't," he warned, only teasing slightly.

A soft sigh of defeat escaped the girl's lips. "Alright, _Taichi_ , I promise to lie down if you get off of me right now," she said with a pout. The smaller brunette ducked her head as the other ruffled her hair again before they both got up from the bed. "I'll be out in a little bit to make breakfast, okay?"

The older sibling nodded and headed out of the room. Kari waited until Tai closed the door behind himself before she grabbed her school uniform and headed for the bathroom connected to her bedroom. Slowly, she removed her light pink shirt and bright yellow pajama pants, followed by her undergarments before getting in the shower. She turned the water on and breathed in deeply. "It was just a dream. . a really bad dream. . . " she whispered to herself as the warm water hit her body, helping her stay calm.

"Hikari, I heard you calling for Taichi. Is everything okay?"

Chestnut orbs blinked a few times and the brunette poked her head out from behind the shower curtain, seeing her Digimon partner coming in through the cracked open window high on the opposite wall. "Oh, good morning, Gatomon. I'm okay now. I had a bad dream, that's all," she told the cat-like creature with a tiny smile. With that said, she ducked back into the shower so she could rinse off her body before getting out and wrapping a towel around her petite frame. "Preparing for high school this past month has been a bit stressful, so I guess it's finally catching up to me," she admitted as she reached up and gently scratched behind Gatomon's ears as she laid in the early morning sun. "I'll be fine," she said reassuringly, though it sounded a little like she might have been trying to convince herself.

With a gentle shake of her head, the brunette then turned her attention to the mirror. She grabbed the hairdryer and turned it on high, glad that it did not take long with her hair being so short. She pinned it back with one of her usual hairclips before carefully pulling her uniform shirt on over her head. Next was her skirt before she gave a small twirl, the green skirt flying up just slightly. "What do you think?"

"You look purr~fect, Kari," Gatomon replied, earning a soft giggle from her human partner. "It's almost time for you to leave and you still have to eat breakfast," she then pointed out.

"Oh! Right," she said, though the thought of food started to putt her off once again. "Well, let's go see what there is to make for breakfast."

With that, Hikari and Gatomon made their way out of the bathroom and bedroom. Stepping into the hallway made several voices audible. Chestnut orbs blinked a few times and Kari strained her hearing.

"Yolei, you're a genius! Best first day of high school ever!"

A tiny smiled came to her lips as she immediately recognized the voice belonging to one of her friends, Davis Motomiya. He was a lot like Tai, with spiky maroon hair and chocolate eyes, though he was even more obnoxious. Of course, he always meant well.

"My parents said that I could take as much food as I wanted from the store so we could all eat breakfast before we start school today. I'm glad T.K. and Cody live in the same apartment building as me, so I had plenty of hands to help me carry everything hear," a second, equally unmistakable, voice said matter-of-factly, causing Kari to smile even more. Yolei Inoue was her best girl friend, being the female DigiDestined closest to her in age. The purple-haired girl was never afraid to speak her mind, and that was one of the many things the brunette liked and admired about her.

As she came into the living room, she could see that all of her friends around her age were there, which she had not been expecting. As far as she had known, Tai was the one walking her to school. Of course, the rest of the DigiDestined always seemed to be full of surprises. "Good morning, everyone," she said with a happy smile. Her chestnut orbs wandered from her older brother, who stood closest to her, around the group. Davis stood next to Tai with Ken Ichijouji on his other side. As usual, Yolei was attached to her indigo-haired boyfriend, her slim arms wrapped around one of his. Next to the couple was Cody Hida, who had received the opportunity to skip his last few years of junior high school because of his perfect grades and therefore would be joining the others in high school. Standing next to him, and quite taller, was Takeru Takaishi.

T.K. had been one of the original DigiDestined, the only one her age when she had found out that she was the Eighth Child. They had both been so young and, a lot of the time, scared, so they tended to stick together. Upon returning to the human world, they continued the trend, ending up in the same classes and spending time together outside of school as well. Their friendship stayed strong even through junior high school, which caused Davis to be jealous.

Azure eyes had been watching the brunette from the moment she walked into the room. Of course, she had not noticed until her own chestnut orbs locked with them. She noticed the expression on his face as one of worry. Her smile dropped for a moment as she wondered if Tai told the blond about her nightmare.

Before she could think too much about that, Yolei had unattached herself from Ken and threw her arms around the smaller girl instead. "Kari! You look so cute in your uniform! Not fair," she said with a pout.

The brunette giggled softly, wrapping her arms around the purple-haired female in return. "You do, too, Yolei. You look good in green," she said reassuringly.

The other girl pulled away and returned to her boyfriend's side. "Thanks. Even if you're just saying that. You're too nice to say that I look weird in a skirt," she said as she pulled at the green uniform skirt in order to hid the cargo short she was wearing underneath.

"I think you look cute, Yolei," Ken told his girlfriend. Kari could not help but to smile. The two of them made a cute couple and it made her glad. They deserved to be happy.

Davis rolled his eyes and made a gagging noise. "'scuse me while I barf. I definitely agree with Yolei, though – you look really cute in the school uniform, Kari!"

Chestnut orbs blinked a few times and a faint pink colored pale cheeks at the compliment. "Oh, uhm, thank you, Davis," she said softly. The maroon-haired teen had been flirting with the brunette since the moment they met, but it still somehow made her nervous. She shifted from one foot to the other before looking around the group once more.

" _Anyway_ – everyone grab some food so we can eat and walk!" Yolei ordered with a roll of her own honey eyes. Davis, of course, did not need to be told twice, quickly grabbing a breakfast sandwich, hashbrown, and drink. The others followed suit.

Hikari waited for everyone else to go before her, but barely had time to react as a sandwich was gently tossed in her direction. She looked up to see Takeru holding a small container of juice out to her. "Did you sleep okay?"

His words struck a nerve. She did not know why it still surprised her when he could see right through the happy face she tried to put on so the others would not worry about her. Reaching out, she gently took the juice. "I've had better dreams, but I'll be alright," she said quietly.

It wasn't a lie. She never wanted to lie to anyone, especially not her friends. Still, she did not want to trouble them either. She carefully opened the juice container and took a sip, feeling her stomach settle down a bit. "Thank you, Takeru."

"Yeah, sure." The blond wore a small frown, but let the topic of the brunette's dream drop. He could at least wait until they were not around the others. Yolei, Ken, and Cody had all tested into Advanced classes and Davis was stuck in Basic ones, while the two of them were in Honors for most of their classes. They, fortunately for T.K. or unfortunately for Kari, would have quite a bit of time away from their other friends throughout the day. And they both knew that he would bring her bad night's sleep back up at the first chance he had.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Cody asked, finally speaking up as he felt more awake with food in his system. The others nodded in acknowledgement and gathered their belongings so they could all head out together.

Taichi came between Takeru and Hikari, draping his arms around both of their shoulders. "I can't believe you guys are starting _high school_! You're just kids!" he teased.

Kari shook her head a bit. "Come on, Tai. We're only four years younger than you, stop being so weird," she fussed at her brother as he pulled her even closer. The younger brunette then seemed to remember something. "Oh! Can you take our picture?" she asked, pulling her camera out of her school bag and passing it to him. It took a couple of tries before Tai was able to take a clear pictures, always moving the device too soon, but they were then on their way.

The walk started off pretty uneventful. Davis complained a lot about not being in the same class as anyone, Kari in particular. They all had the same Physical Education and lunch hours, but he still insisted that it was not fair since T.K. got to spend almost the entire day with her.

"Well, maybe you should've gotten better grades and you could have been in the same class as Hikari, too!" Yolei scolded the gogglehead, who just huffed and pouted even more.

"It'll be okay, Davis. We'll still see each other everyday. Nothing is really going to change," Kari said with a smile.

Davis let out an excited whoop and punched the air in victory. "Alllriiight! Let's get going then!" he exclaimed. Both Hikari and Ken smiled softly as they had always admired Davis's enthusiasm, while Cody, Takeru, and Yolei all leaned away slightly.

They reached a major fork in the road and Kari turned to Tai one last time. "You should head to your own school now, Taichi. We're all going to walk together, so there's really no need for you to go so far out of your way," she said softly.

The older Kamiya pouted quite a bit. "Are you sure? It's not really a big deal," he began, still worried about his sister. He then noticed that Takeru was still nearby and paying close attention. " . . .alright. I'll see all of you later," he said, sighing in defeat. At least he knew that T.K. would not take an eye off Kari all day. She would be just fine if he was with her, right?

"Taichi's really worried about you."

Chestnut orbs blinked softly and wandered up to meet with azure eyes. A faint pink came to Hikari's cheeks as she felt embarrassed that Takeru would call her out in front of quite a bit of their friends. A look around, however, showed her that they were alone. When had that happened? Hadn't they just split up from her brother?

"Was I. . . sleepwalking?" she questioned, feeling completely confused on top of flustered.

A slight frown came to his lips. "Were you? You _were_ awfully quiet. Then again, none of us could get anything in with Davis talking a mile per minute." Even with the slight joke, the blond looked worried. He gently pushed away the brunette's bangs with one hand. "Hikari, you're burning up."

" _Tak_ -" she began, slightly annoyed.

' _Hikari. . . '_

" . . .what?" she breathed out after being cut off.

The frown only grew as T.K. wondered what Kari had been interrupted by. "I'm taking you to the infirmary. If you keep pushing yourself, it won't end well."

A matching frown came to the girl's lips. She knew that her best friend was right, even though she did not want to admit it. "Okay. I'll try to take it easy for the first couple of classes. _You_ have to go to class and take good notes for the both of us, though. We're in Honors classes – they'll be difficult to keep up with if missed," she pointed out.

Knowing that it would be the best compromise he would be promised by his best friend, the blond held an arm out to the brunette. "At least let me walk you there," he said.

She gently placed both hands on the offered arm. "Okay. Thank you, Takeru," she said softly, sounding truly grateful behind all of her reluctance.

A kind smile came to his lips as he looked down at her. "That's what I'm here for," he reminded her.

It only took a few minutes to reach the infirmary. He walked her right over to one of the empty beds, grabbing a clipboard on the way. "Looks like the nurse isn't in just yet. I'll just stay here until they get here," he said as she got situate under the light, cool bedsheets.

Hazel orbs met azure eyes and she fixed him with a stubborn stare. "Takeru, you're beginning to act like Davis. I'm just going to rest. I don't really need someone to watch me sleep," she said before dropping her gaze so she could look down at the paperwork she had to fill out.

Once finished, the brunette passed the clipboard back to the blond. He wore yet another frown, but nodded softly. "Fine. Just text me if you need anything. I'll check back in when it gets to be lunchtime," he told her.

"I won't be here for that long. I'm only going to sleep for a class or two."

The pair of best friends fixed each other with stubborn looks once more, neither ready to budge completely. "Whatever you say," T.K. said in slight defeat. He took the clipboard back over to the desk. He move towards the door, but glanced over his shoulder one last time. A small smile came to his lips when he saw that Kari was already sleeping, her chest rising and falling slowly.

"Sweet dreams, Hikari."

. .

Authoress's Note: That was actually a lot longer than I expected! I had it all typed up on my phone, but had to retype it all onto my laptop! It took about an hour and a half, which even included a bit of editing! Please let me know what you think and if there is anything you'd like to see in any of the future chapters!


	2. 02: Good Friends, Or More?

Title: Light & Hope

Author: Atariel Tsukai

Date: December 11, 2015

Summary: Darkness is always the strongest when there is Light to attract it. Sometimes you just need a little Hope to get through the deepest of Darkness.

Rating: T

Authoress's Note: I'm back with the second chapter of this fanfic! I'd like to thank NekoSparky, foreverheartamnoscc (of course, it is compensating for the lack of Takari in Tri!), and the alpha phoenix for reviewing the first chapter, along with everyone who favorited or followed the story! Hope you all enjoy this next chapter!

. .

Chapter 02: Good Friends, Or More?

Hikari woke up feeling refreshed. Unfortunately, it did not seem like that would last very long. Hazel orbs blinked softy, then widened as they met a chocolate pair. "O-oh! Hi, Davis. . . What's up?" she stammered softly, her pale cheeks flushing a light pink.

"T.J. said that you've been in here since right before first period," the maroon-haired teen said with a frown. "Are you okay?" he asked.

The brunette gave a frown of her own. "I'm fine. What period is it?" she asked as she slowly sat up once he had given her enough room to do so. She knew that it had to be quite a bit later in the day, since T.K. would have only seen Davis and the others during lunch or gym.

"It's lunchtime now. I brought you some food," he told her with a grin, waving towards the side table where there was a tray of food and a drink.

"Oh wow. Thank you, Davis," she said with a small smile, carefully taking the tray and trying to decide what to start with. As she tried to decide, she could not help but t wonder why Davis was the one checking in on her, not Takeru like he had said he would.

"Hey, so there's something I wanted to ask you, Kari."

Hazel orbs blinked once again. "Yeah?" she questioned with a tilt of her head, her hair falling away from her face just slightly.

"There's gonna be an end-of-the-summer fair at the amusement park this weekend. Even Matt's gonna perform there with Knife Of Day! Do you want to go?" the gogglehead asked excitedly.

"A fair sounds like fun. Is everyone else going to see Matt, too?" she asked, thinking that the DigiDestined all usually tried to attend Yamato's concerts together.

The grin on the boy's face was replaced with a new frown. "I dunno. I didn't invite anyone else. I actually meant it as a date, you know?" Davis asked, feeling pretty lame.

So much for even attempting to eat. As much as she knew that he meant no harm, there was always something about the way Davis flirted with her that made her feel nervous. Was that what liking someone was supposed to feel like?

Hikari could not help but to begin thinking about her feelings towards the rest of her friends. She loved Tai, for sure – he was the best older brother she could have ever asked for. All of the DigiDestined felt like an extension to her family. The older ones had always kept an eye on her as a child and she had appreciated it, even when she had not wanted them to worry so much. The ones closer to her age all looked out for her as well, but also looked to her for help when they faced new problems.

And then there was Takeru.

He had gone through the same things as her, being babied by the older DigiDestined and looked up to by the younger. Both in and out of the Digital World, they did almost everything together. They were in the same classes whenever they were in school and over the summer, they spent a lot of time either in one of their families' apartments or outside. T.K. would work on his writing and basketball while Kari took pictures, a lot of which often ended up being of him. Yolei would always crack jokes at her expense when they were catching up on "girl talk", saying that the blond needed to be careful of stalker girls since he was so good-looking.

Thinking back to one of those many conversations with her best girl friend, she started to wonder if the other girl was right. He had always been attractive – both physically and personality-wise. They were now in high school, where relationships seemed more common than good grades. Davis had always been the one to ask Hikari out on dates, so he was to say that Takeru had not been asked out as well? Or maybe he had been the one to ask a girl out?

"Uhhh, Kari? Did I lose you? You don't look so good. Maybe you should go back to sleep and I'll check back later?" Davis finally suggested.

Hazel orbs blinked softly and Kari could feel her pale cheeks flushing a hot pink. "Uhm, sure. I'm sorry, Davis. I wish I were feeling better. Thanks again for bringing me lunch, though – I really do appreciate it. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

A look of discouragement found its way to Davis's face as Hikari tried to be polite about turning him down yet again. He always tried so hard to break through the invisible walls the girl had up for whatever reason. He understood that she had more experience as a DigiDestined than he and the others, but he still wanted to know more about what happened in the past to see if he could help. None of the original DigiDestined would ever say because they all respected her privacy. The only one in his generation who seemed to know was Yolei, who just scolded him and said that he needed to give Hikari a break. Maybe she was right.

The brunette saw the rejected look just before the maroon-haired teen turned away. "Davis, wait," she called out softly. He turned back, attempting to not let a grin break out across his face. "What time will Knife Of Day be performing?" she asked.

"Not until later in the day, but I was thinking we can go on rides and eat fair food before we watch them perform!" The grin was impossible to hide.

A small smile pulled at the corners of Kari's lips as Davis's excitement was almost always contagious – a lot like Tai's. "That sounds like a lot of fun."

"Great – I'll pick you up at noon! Thanks, Kari!" he exclaimed before running out of the infirmary so he would not explode from happiness.

A soft giggle escaped the girl's lips as the boy disappeared around the corner. She finally turned her attention back to the food that had been bought for her, feeling much better than she had minutes prior.

. .

"I can't _believe_ you're going on a date with _Davis_! What did he have to do to finally get you to agree?"

A look of confusion came to Kari's face as she worked on pulling her uniform shirt over her head. She had eaten all of her lunch and decided that she was feeling well enough to try attending the rest of her classes. By the time the nurse had performed a basic check up and given her the okay to go, it was time for gym. She usually got a free pass, since all of her coaches were made aware of her illness that would come and go, but that did not keep her from trying her best to participate.

"Did her really bribe you with food? Kari, you're better than that!"

The brunette giggled softly at the exclamation. "It's not like that, Yolei. I just thought that maybe it was time to give him a chance. He always tries so hard and he's a really good friend," she said as she pulled on her tanktop and looked at the purple-haired girl as she started to change as well.

"Cody is _a really good friend_ , Kari. Davis is just. . well. . . _Davis_. And besides, what about T.K.?"

Hazel orbs blinked softly and a faint pink came to pale cheeks. It was true she had thought about a certain blond when she had been trying to decide whether or not to accept the maroon-haired teen's invitation. Still, she did not know what to think about him. "I don't know. I mean, I'm sure he will be there, since Yamato is performing with his band," she responded.

"That's _not_ what I meant and you know it! You've liked T.K. for a really long time now. Why are you gonna go out with Davis when it's T.K. that you like?" Yolei asked accusingly.

The blush only deepened. "I. . Davis invited me, not Takeru. Anyways, I don't even know that Takeru would return my feelings if I told him that I like him. . . " she murmured.

Honey orbs rolled. "You're completely clueless, aren't you?" the purple-haired girl asked with a shake of her head and a heavy sigh. "Come on. We should head out now so we're not marked late."

Upon walking into the gym, Hikari followed Yolei over to where Cody, Davis, Ken, and T.K. were all waiting for them. Davis and Ken were talking about soccer, as usual, while Cody sat quietly next to an even more silent Takeru. Hazel orbs met azure eyes, which quickly looked away. A pang of guilt squeezed the brunette's heart.

Unfortunately, it did not look like she would be able to talk to him any time soon. Their gym coach came out moments after she and Yolei had joined the boys and had the class line up for roll call. She moved towards the middle of the group with Yolei, Ken, and Cody, since their last names were all close.

' _I messed up really bad. I was trying_ not _to by not telling Takeru about my feelings and it only made things worse,'_ she thought, starting to feel more upset with herself than she could ever remember.

' _Hikari. . . '_

Hazel orbs blinked softly. "What?" she asked quietly, looking up to Yolei, Ken, and Cody.

Ken frowned a bit. "We didn't say anything, Hikari-chan. Are you still feeling a little ill?" he asked, his voice filled with concern. He then looked at his girlfriend, who seemed upset with her best friend.

"I'm. . okay. I should probably just sit on the sidelines today. Thanks. . . " she murmured. Once roll call was finished, she went over to the coach, who told her to take it easy. With a weak nod, the brunette walked over to the bleachers and sat down.

'I'm so selfish. . I should have told T.K. about my feelings a long time ago. Now I've hurt him and I'll probably end up hurting Davis, too. . . '

' _Hikari. . . '_

She took a deep breath and looked around the gym. Somebody kept calling out to her. Who was it and what did they want? She already had too much to deal with right then.

Hazel orbs fell on the blond, who was clearly avoiding the rest of their friends. He had gone straight for the basketball court when the coach told everyone that the first class was a free session. Watching the boy shoot hoops, of course, only served to remind the girl of many of the days they spent together in the summer.

 _"You know, you could play and I could take some pictures."_

 _A look of surprise and confusion took over Hikari's face. She looked down at Takeru, who had flopped in the grass beside her while she went through the pictures she had just taken. Her lips parted and a soft laugh escaped. "Do you really think I could make a basket, T.K.? I'm not very good at soccer, even though Tai's been making me play since we were little," she reminded him._

 _A wide grin spread across the blond's face. "Of course I think you can!" He propped himself up on his elbows and looked even more attentively at his best friend. "I can teach you," he offered._

 _Kari gave T.K. a small smile. "Alright, then. Come on and show me. Unless you're too tired right now," she said since the boy had just sat down for a break._

" _I'm_ never _too tired," he said, gaining another giggle from the girl. He was quick to hop up from the grass and held one hand out to her._

 _A faint pink dusted Hikari's cheeks as she gently took Takeru's hand and pulled herself up with his help. For a moment, they just stood there, hands linked and looking quietly into each other's eyes. She sucked her lower lip in for a moment, then led the way onto the basketball court he had just come off of. She picked up the ball, which felt bulky and awkward in her small hands._

 _The blond examined the way the brunette was holding the basketball. "You don't have to hold on so tightly. I'll be a lot easier to dribble and shoot if you have a slightly looser grip," he told her as he moved a little closer._

 _Before she could realize what he was doing, Kari felt T.K.'s hands covering her own. She tensed for a moment, then breathed out, loosening her grip on the ball. "O-okay."_

" _Now try dribbling a few times. You just bounce it against the ground and catch it again. If you move without dribbling, you'll get disqualified and the ball has to be handed off to the other team," he explained._

 _She gave a gentle nod, then felt herself being guided in letting go of the basketball with one hand and catching it with the other. Never once did his hands move away from hers, which caused her cheeks to grow hotter. Her head was also beating harder in her chest in a way that surprised her that he could not hear it._

" _You're doing great, Kari. Go ahead and try to make a basket now," T.K. said as he guided her in stretching her thin arms above her head. "You don't have to jump, since you're not trying to get it past anyone."_

 _Another nod and Hikari did as instructed. She watched as the ball left her fingers and sailed smoothly through the air. It hit the backboard, then fell through the net. Hazel orbs widened as the brunette spun around quickly to face the blond, her hands still in his. "Takeru, you should be a coach! You're really good at teaching," she said excitedly._

 _T.K. looked down into Kari's sparkling orbs and smiled a bit. "You really think so? Who knows, maybe I'll be a coach during the school year and an author during the summer. Just like you'll be a teacher during the school year and a photographer during the summer," he said softly._

 _The brunette smiled even more and nodded in agreement. "We'd make a really good team!" she responded happily. "Just like old times!"_

 _There was a sudden clicking noise, which caused them to blink and look in the direction of the sound. They had both been too wrapped up in the moment to notice that not only had Yolei come to their usual hangout area, but she had also snatched Kari's camera and taken a picture of them. "Kari, did you seriously forget about the shopping date we were supposed to have earlier? Though, I guess I can see why," the slightly older girl teased with a knowing smirk. "You should have just kissed her, T.K.!"_

 _Both the brunette and the blond's faces heated up with bright blush in response to the purple-haired female's teasing. "Wh-what? Yolei!" they exclaimed in complete synchronization with the other. They then looked at each other for another moment, their faces turning even more pink._

" _G-guess I should get going. Thank you for a fun morning, Takeru," Hikari stammered softly, looking down to the blacktop beneath her shoes._

" _S-sure. Any time," he said with a slight smile that made her heart skip a few beats. She was too interested in the ground to see it, but could hear it in his voice._

 _She slowly backed away, moving towards Yolei so she could take her camera back. "I'll see you later," she said with a small wave._

" _Yeah, later."_

"Kari, watch out!"

Before she could register what was going on, a basketball hit her hard in the face. Stars spun in front of her hazel orbs for quite some time, then her vision began to fade in and out. She swayed forward a little, but felt herself being caught in two pairs of arms.

"Hikari-chan, are you okay?"

"Cody, we have to take her back to the infirmary. Kari, do you think you can stand?"

The brunette shook her head gently and immediately regretted the motion as it made her feel even more lightheaded. "I don't feel so good. . . " she murmured, trying to steady herself in Yolei's arms.

"Okay, just hang on. Hey, Ken? Davis? Oh, shoot. . . "

Hikari's world went black for quite some time.

 _Kari had never felt so scared in her life. Sure, finding out that she was the Eighth Child by being hunted by a vampire Digimon had been terrifying, but at least her friends had been there to help her. Traveling into the Digital World had been frightening as well, but again, she was not alone. Tai and the rest of their friends were all there to make sure she was safe and sound. However, running for her life and trying to hide from a clown Digimon that had turned most of the older kids and their Digimon into keychains had her almost petrified with fear. She, T.K., Patamon, Sora, and Gomamon were crawling in a tight spot underneath a large, dark room, listening and hoping that Piedmon would not figure out where they were._

" _I think we're out of danger for now," Sora whispered as they heard the final Dark Master's retreating footsteps. She had a gentle hold on the younger girl, not willing to let her or the blond boy out of her sight. The two children's older brothers were counting on her to keep them safe while they were not able to. Of course, that moment did not last for long. Sharp swords broke through the wood floor above, nearly piercing them. "Run for it!" The brunette tightened her fingers around the older girl's arms, squeezing her hazel orbs shut as a soft whimper escaped her lips._

" _Ollie ollie oxen free!" Piedmon called, still trying to coax the last three children out of their hiding spot._

" _Celestial Arrow! Run, Kari!"_

" _Hurry, Sora!"_

 _A familiar attack above brought hope for the three human children. "It's Angewomon!" the Child of Light exclaimed, finally opening her hazel orbs once more._

" _Garudamon!"_

" _Winged Blade!"_

 _Unfortunately, as they lifted one of the panels above their heads to get back onto the level of the fight, they witness two pieces of cloth covering both of their ultimate-level partners. A noise somewhere between a gasp and a cry escaped Hikari's lips and she covered her mouth with one hand._

" _T.K., come here!" Sora called as she crawled out after the two younger children._

 _The blond did as told, running over to the orange-haired girl for more instructions. "What is it?" he asked expectantly._

" _I want you to take Kari and get outta here!"_

" _But what about you?"_

" _Listen to me. There isn't much time. Piedmon has the rest of our friends and if he gets us, we're doomed." She stood up, looking down fondly at the boy. "T.K., please, you're the only one who can protect Kari. You have to be brave – now get going!"_

" _I won't leave you!"_

 _Sora placed her hands on T.K.'s shoulders. "Don't worry about me – I'll be fine!"_

 _The boy hesitated, but gave a weak nod. "All right. . . "_

" _No matter what happens, keep running!"_

" _Okay, Sora. I promise I'll do whatever I can to protect Kari!"_

" _Right, hurry, go!"_

" _Come on, Kari, let's go!" the young blond called out to the brunette before leading the way through a different passageway, keeping in front in case they ran into Piedmon again._

When she woke up, she found herself in the infirmary once more. Hazel orbs wandered the room and found the majority of her friends sitting around the bed, all staring intently at her. Cody and Yolei were still the closest to her, but the older DigiDestined had joined them as well.

"Where. . " she breathed out weakly before coughing into her hand quite a bit. She watched as the others all tensed in response to the small fit. "Where are Ken and Davis? And. . . T-Takeru?" she stammered, her voice barely over a whisper.

Yolei grumbled a bit. "T.K. is lucky Ken and Davis caught him before he got himself into any more trouble," she answered sourly.

Hazel orbs blinked, then widened. Takeru had gotten in trouble? That confused her even more than zoning out in the middle of gym, just to be greeted harshly by a flying basketball.

Yamato laughed from the back of the group, breaking some of the tension among the other DigiDestined. "Looks like he picked up a little more from me and Dad than I thought," he said, sounding a bit cocky.

Kari felt her heart clench. She was not sure what Matt meant, but was sure that it was nothing good. "What happened? Where is T.K.?" she asked a little more strongly.

Tai sighed softly. "He's on suspension because he started a fight," he told his younger sister.

. .

"Takeru, what were you thinking?"

Hikari had insisted on seeing him right away. Yamato and Taichi both walked her to the Ishida apartment, which was closer to the school than the Takaishi apartment. Davis and Ken were there, but Takeru was still not talking to either of them. He sat out on the balcony, staring silently into the distance and not even responding when the door slid open and she stepped out to join him and asked the simple question.

The brunette walked the few steps across the balcony and sat down next to him. She slipped her slim legs through the bars and let them hang in the cool, late afternoon breeze. "I'm sorry," she apologized, even though she was still waiting for some kind of explanation for his actions. She had a feeling that it had something to do with her. "I really am."

"They deserved it." The response was dull. Azure eyes finally shifted, wandering over to meet hazel orbs. The brunette was quick to notice the bruises forming on the usually flawless skin, proving that the blond had really been in a fight. "You haven't done anything wrong," he added.

Kari frowned a bit, feeling that T.K. was just saying that to make her feel better. "What did you get mad enough about that you started a fight, then?" she asked.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "They were saying thing about you that weren't true. . . " he finally admitted.

Hazel orbs blinked softly. "Me. . Takeru, you shouldn't get in a fight because of me. . . I'm sure whatever they were saying wasn't bad enough to justify a fight."

The blond stared at the brunette for a few moments, seeming to try and decide if he should tell her more. "They said that if you were willing to date Davis, then you'd probably date anybody. Then they said that when things don't work out between you two, they'd all take turns. The things they talked about doing with you were really horrible," he murmured, clenching his hands into fists by his sides.

Pale cheeks flushed as Hikari had a feeling that she knew a little about what Takeru was implying. She was quiet for several moments, trying to think of what to say. "You still didn't have to fight them because of me," she murmured once again. She felt a bit surprised that Takeru was still willing to protect her, even after she had so obviously hurt him by agreeing to date Davis.

"On top of all that, they threw that ball at you for no reason," he continued as if she had not said anything.

"I should have been paying attention. Just because I'm excused from gym doesn't mean I should zone out like that. "You didn't have to-"

"If I hadn't been so distracted, I could have kept the ball from hitting you." The brunette flinched slightly when she was cut off and the blond immediately looked apologetic. "I promised that I would do my best to protect you, Hikari," he said more gently.

A faint pink dusted her cheeks once more at the simple, yet meaningful words. She was reminded of the way Takeru had always looked out for her, even since they had met. First, he had wanted to help protect her from Myotismon, then Piedmon and the other Dark Masters, and even Dragomon and the creatures of the Dark Ocean. Those actions should have been all the proof of his feelings she needed. He had always shown her how important she was to him, but she had not been able to see it until after she had hurt him.

"Takeru. . . I know you said that I haven't done anything wrong, but I really am sorry. I should have thought about your feelings more when I agreed to go out with Davis."

A soft sigh escaped the boy's lips as he laid his head against the girl's shoulder. "It's fine, Hikari. I just want you to be safe. . and happy. . . "

. .

Authoress's Note: Sooo, hopefully you all don't hate me for the random note I left this chapter off with, or the way Kari was so indecisive! It was starting to get long, so I thought that it was a good place to end. Let me know what you think and I'll try to have the next chapter up ASAP!


End file.
